Italy

Venice

​Venice is a year-round destination but most months you'll have to share the place with thousands of other visitors. Numbers peak in summer with day-tripping cruise ship passengers adding to the throng, despite the heat, humidity and swarms of mosquitoes. Spring and autumn are more pleasant months in which to visit and certainly the crowds weren't a problem when my wife and I took a city break there in early November 2016. An added bonus was that the weather was excellent - clear blue skies and only a slight chill after the sun had set. Winter is rated by many as potentially the most atmospheric - misty mornings, cheaper rooms, and with far fewer tourists the city is reclaimed by Venetians and therefore offers a far more authentic feel.

Base for a three-night stay was the excellent Hotel Al Ponte Moncenigolocated in central Venice, in the district of Santa Croce. The hotel entrance is only 50 metres from the San Stae church and the adjacent waterbus stop on the Grand Canal. Venice is served by two airports, the main one, and closest to the city being Marco Polo Airport (VCE) which is located on the mainland approximately 8.0 kilometres (5 miles) to the north. Passengers have the option (albeit a fairly expensive one) of transferring via Vaporetto (waterbus) or water taxi but we chose the ATVO airport express which took around 30 minutes to reach the Piazzale Roma at the western end of the 3.5km long Grand Canal. From there its was just a 4-stop hop on the Vaporetto to reach our chosen accommodation.

The name San Stae is actually an abbreviation of Saint Eustachius. The church was founded in the 11th century but extensive reconstruction took place in the 17th and early 18th century including a new facade created by Domenico Rossi which is ornately decorated in Baroque style with statues by several famous Italian sculptors. The interior holds the tomb of the influential Mocenigo family, many of whom were doges (dukes), statesmen, and soldiers.

The Rialto Bridge, one of the architectural icons of Venice, is the oldest of the four bridges that span the Grand Canal. The present stone structure, a single span designed by Antonio da Ponte, was completed in 1591 and is similar to the wooden bridge it replaced. The very first dry crossing was a floating pontoon built in 1181 by Nicolò Barattieri but increased traffic, much of it as a result of the development of the Rialto market on the eastern bank, demanded a fixed crossing. In 1255 the first wooden bridge was built. It consisted of two inclined ramps meeting at a movable central section which could be raised to allow the passage of tall ships. In the years that followed, this wooden bridge collapsed a couple of times which led to the idea of a far more stable stone version.

"No Mafia - Venice is Sacred!"

The Bridge of Sighs is one of the most famous bridges in the world. The enclosed structure, which passes over the Rio di Palazzo, is made of white limestone and has windows with stone grilles. It connected the New Prison (Prigioni Nuove) to the interrogation rooms in the Doge's (Duke`s) Palace and the name, derived from the Italian "Ponte dei sospiri", gave rise to the tale that one could hear the sighs of condemned prisoners as they were being led across to their cells for long periods of incarceration. Built in 1600, The Bridge of Sighs was designed by Antonio Contino whose uncle Antonio da Ponte was responsible for the Rialto Bridge.

The figure on the left is the `Drunkenness of Noah` which forms part of the south-eastern corner of the Palazzo Ducale. It is thought to be the work of Filippo Calendario who was one of the palace`s architects. It relates to a story in the bible and both sides of the corner are used to dramatise the tale. Noah is depicted drunk on one side, while two of his sons are depicted on the other. In this view, the hand of one of them is reaching round, attempting to cover up their father's nakedness with his cloak - it must`ve been quite a party! ​

When you mention Venice to most people, an image of Gondoliers usually springs to mind. In years gone by, the gondola was the main type of transport here, but nowadays it`s a thriving, but mainly seasonal tourist industry. Customers can pay up to €200 (£175) to be serenaded as they are taken out on the bay or through the narrow channels of the city's canals with songs and tips an additional extra! No doubt many Brits will request `O Sole Mio` – the tune forever associated with the `Just One Cornetto` TV insurance ads.

Piazza San Marco (St Mark's Square), is the city`s main public square and is dominated at its eastern end by the great church of St Mark. Saint Mark's Basilica, also known as St Mark`s Cathedral, is the most famous of the city's many churches and one of the best known examples of Italo-Byzantine architecture. It is connected to the adjacent Doge's (Duke`s) Palace which looks onto the waterfront.

Looking across the square from the balcony on St Mark`s Basilica.

Decorated with Byzantine, Romanesque and Gothic art, the west facade of St Mark`s is composed of two orders of five recessed arches, supported by clusters of columns whose capitals were carved in the 12th and 13th centuries. The delicate pinnacles and other decorations at the top of the facade are Gothic additions of the 14th and 15th centuries.

Entry to the interior of the church is free but, at the time of my visit, it cost €5 Euros to access the museum upstairs and the Loggia dei Cavalli, a balcony which looks out over Piazza San Marco. The museum's centrepiece is the Quadriga of St Mark's, a group of four bronze horses originally plundered from Constantinople and later carted off to Paris by Napoleon, before eventually being returned to the basilica and installed in the 1st-floor gallery. The museum has an interesting collection of exhibits and I was one of the few who appeared to be taking heed of the `No Photography` signs. Full-size reproductions of the horses are mounted outside on the balcony.

​The Palazzo Ducale, or Doge’s (Duke`s) Palace (below), was the seat of the government of Venice for centuries. As well as being the home of the elected ruler of the city it was the venue for its civil administration and law courts. ​Built in Venetian Gothic style, the Palace is one of the city`s main landmarks and has been a museum since 1923.

The following slide show and gallery feature general views of the city...

​Riva Degli Schiavoni is the city`s main promenade which sits on the waterfront of St. Mark's Basin. It was originally built in the 9th century from dredged silt and was named for the Slavic men who brought cargo to Venice from across the Adriatic Sea. The market stalls that crowd the area are thought to have begun in the 15th century, when Slavs and Greeks moved into the area and would set up close to the wharf to sell their meat and dried fish. Today, the stalls are still present although rather than meat and dried fish, it`s mainly snacks, pastries, and tacky Venetian souvenirs for visitors to take home.

​This striking bronze on the waterfront commemorates Victor Emmanuel II (Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso (Born: March 1820) who was King of Sardinia from 1849 until 17 March 1861, when he assumed the title King of Italy to become the first king of a united Italy since the 6th century. He retained the position until his death in 1878 and the Italians know him as `Father of the Fatherland`.

The statue above, sculpted by Antonio Dal Zotto, is of Carlo Osvaldo Goldoni (25 February 1707 – 6 February 1793), an Italian playwright and librettist from the Republic of Venice. His works include some of Italy's most famous and best-loved plays. I took the view (top left) of what appears to be a war memorial from the Vaporetto. It stands on the edge of the Giardini Pubblici, the largest patch of green space in Venice. These formal public gardens are close to the Arsenal and are sometimes called the Giardini Napoleonici, as it was during Napoleon`s reign, in 1807, that they were first laid out. The porcelain clown was on display in a shop window.

Castello is the largest of the city`s six districts and is home to the Venetian Arsenal (Arsenale di Venezia), a complex of shipyards and armouries built in the 12th Century. Both naval and merchant trading vessels were constructed here.

The ornate main gate, the Porta Magna, was built around 1460 and is guarded by two stone lions `acquired` from Greece. The Arsenal was responsible for much of the Venetian Republic's economic wealth and naval dominance until Napoleon's conquest of the area in 1797. The French destroyed large portions of the facility but the Arsenal was rebuilt and is used today as a naval base, research centre and exhibition venue. The city`s Naval Museum is also located here.

A waterfront villa near the Giardini Pubblici, the largest of the city`s public parks.

The above shot shows the car and passenger ferry San Nicolo about to berth at the Lido. This 11 kilometre (7-mile) long sandbar, known as Lido di Venezia in Italian, has three main settlements housing a total of approximately 20,000 residents. Unlike the old city, frequent public buses run the length of the strip along the main street.

There are fine sandy beaches on the Adriatic side most of which are private, belonging to up-market hotels including the renowned Excelsior and the Des Bains, setting for Thomas Mann's classic novel Death in Venice. The Venice International Film Festival takes place at the Lido every September.​ Founded in 1932, this is the oldest film festival in the world and one of the "Big Three" film festivals alongside the Cannes Film Festival and Berlin International Film Festival. ​

The Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute overlooks the southern entrance to the Grand Canal on the narrow finger of the Punta della Dogana, with the Giudecca Canal on the other side. It is the most recent of the so-called plague churches, commissioned by Venice’s plague survivors as thanks for their salvation in an epidemic which broke out during 1630, in the oppressive summer heat. In less than two years, almost a third of the population had succumbed, with 46,000 people dying in the city itself and another 94,000 in the smaller communities dotted around the lagoons.

​A competition was held to design the new building and of eleven submissions the architect Baldassare Longhena`s was successful. The site chosen was adjacent to the rusticated single storey customs house or Dogana da Mar, the emblem of the city`s maritime commerce. Work on the project began in 1631 and the church was finally completed in 1681, the year before Longhena passed away. The twin dome`s are an immediately recognisable feature of the Venice skyline, made more famous by many well-known artists over the years. Most of the objects of art housed within the church bear references to the Black Death.

Murano

If anyone has just two full days available, I can recommend covering the main sites on foot one day, and making use of a 24 hour Vaporetto ticket the next. In our case, a cruise down the Grand Canal and out to the Lido in the morning was followed by a circuit of the city after lunch which included a visit to Murano which is famed for its glassware. If you watch when you validate your ticket it could also cover the canal journey to the airport bus or train station for the trip home the following day.

Murano, in the Venetian Lagoon, is actually a series of islands linked by bridges. It lies about 1.5 kilometres north of Venice and measures about 1.5 km across with a population of just over 5,000. The lighthouse, which dates from 1912, is still active although it seems to have developed a distinct lean toward the seaward side. Vaporetto 4.1 runs from Piazzale Roma on an anti-clockwise circular route making over 24 stops along the way, including several at Murano. Vaporetto number 4.2 covers the same route but in the opposite direction.

The Isola di San Michele is passed on the way to Murano and its walls give the appearance of a fortress, however, this island is the city`s cemetery. Venice`s first Renaissance church dating from 1469 and a monastery stand here and the island has also served as a prison in years gone by. Along with neighbouring San Cristoforo della Pace, the island of San Michele was once a popular place with locals, especially fishermen.

In 1807, when Venice was under French occupation, it was decreed that the practice of burying the dead at numerous unregulated locations on the mainland, or on the main Venetian islands, (often beneath paving stones or church floors) was a health risk, especially as the city was so susceptible to flooding. In 1836, the canal that separated Isola di San Michele and San Cristoforo della Pace was filled, joining the pair, and subsequently the location became known simply as San Michele.

Bodies were carried to the island on special funeral gondolas. Among those buried there are composer Igor Stravinsky, the American poet and critic Ezra Pound and Jean Michel Schlumberger, the French jewellery designer renowned for his work at Tiffany & Co. The cemetery, which is still in use, also contains 7 Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) graves of officers and seamen of the British Merchant and Royal Navy who lost their lives in the Great War.

On the way back to the main island, the Vaporetto passed the superyacht Carinthia VII which uses Venice as its home port. The vessel, built in 2002 by Lürssen Yachts in Bremen, is one of the largest motor yachts in the world. The owner is Austrian billionaire Heidi Horten, widow of the German entrepreneur Helmut Horten who is ​best known for developing and owning the fourth-largest chain of department stores in Germany - Horten AG.

Above: This shot from our aircraft was taken on departure. Although I had a window seat, I was beside the wing which restricted the view somewhat and the polarising effect of the glass didn`t help. It does, however, show the compact layout of the main island with the Grand canal winding through the centre. The cruise ship port is on the right with the Arsenal taking up most of the narrow section at the opposite end of the island.